When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Acts 2:1-3

When the day of Pentecost came, something new came.  John had prophesied concerning Jesus, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Luke 3:16.  Jesus never did this in His life before the crucifixion, yet alive today, He is the baptizer with the Holy Spirit.

The Kingdom of Heaven poured out His Spirit, and the believers were given power from on high to be witness.This was the baptism in the Holy Spirit.  This was not the same as the receiving as the Spirit.  They had received the Spirit prior, according to John’s Gospel, after His resurrection when He appeared to them.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

John 20:19-23

The disciples up to to cross had worked as “deputies”; that is, they functioned solely in Jesus’ authority and anointing, and not their own.  It is possible to come underneath the out-poured spirit and power of another, and to operate in their authority in a measure for a time.  But, this is not the same as operating in your own measure of anointing and faith.  There is no record of any miracles performed by any of the disciples  after the cross and before the day of Pentecost.

Just as Jesus indicated to the disciples that after passing through the many trials and preparations, He was conferring upon them a Kingdom as the Father had conferred one upon Himself (Luke 22:28-30).  While all believers can have a measure of a gift, even as Timothy received gifts through the laying on of hands of the elders (1 Timothy 4:14), which was different than the gifts he had received prior, there a greater enduement.

But, whether this was the preparation for the increase into their own miracle flow or whether it was something else, it was only the day of Pentecost that the disciples began to move in power and prophecy on their own, separate from their Lord.  They had crossed over, and without any question, a new age was fully present.  The church was built over the next several years, and though the nation at large did not turn to the Gospel, God had a people that were holy and blameless in His sight.

When the Spirit came upon Peter, although He had already been restored in the account at the end of John’s gospel, boldness came upon him, and he preached to the crowds in the streets of Jerusalem.  He didn’t back off from them, or attempt to “sell” Jesus.  But, the contrary.

This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

Acts 2:23

Rather than that, He implicated those listening in the actual murder of the King of Kings, of God Himself.  The Word that Peter had received from the Father previously had been cleared of its rocks and thorn bushes now by the Master.  Peter was not attempting to save his own life, or to appease a crowd.  He stood, cleansed, prepared for service, and boldly declaring the Word of the Lord.  He was bearing fruit.

The Kingdom of God was at hand, and of the increase of its government and peace, there would be no end.